


Like Mother, Like Daughter

by Chaotic_Cate



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cassandra is Bad at Feelings (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra needs a hug (Disney), Cassandra-centric (Disney: Tangled), Childhood Trauma, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Moon Powers Cassandra (Disney: Tangled), Rapunzel has trauma, cassandra has an emotion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25570699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaotic_Cate/pseuds/Chaotic_Cate
Summary: Set after Zhan Tiri's defeat and before Cassandra's departure to find her true destiny.Cassandra works up the courage to ask Rapunzel a question that has been on her mind for a very long time. Cassandra needed to know more about her biological mother, and Rapunzel will always do what she can to help a friend, even if it is painful.
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 54





	Like Mother, Like Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I wrote this quite awhile ago with the intention of it being the middle chapter of a 3-part story that I planned. I still may do that, by adding the last chapter and then a prequel (which is already in the works). But for now, I just really wanted to post something.  
> Mild mental health TW:  
> I have been having a rough time again lately and struggling to do things that I usually really enjoy, such as writing.   
> My multi-chapter stories are on a bit of a hiatus because of that, but I really miss sharing my work. I had this pre written and it was collecting dust- so here you are! I am fairly happy with this story, and I hope you like it too!

After a week of being confined to her bedroom, Cassandra felt strange walking freely about the castle. Approaching Rapunzel’s room felt even stranger. It was something she had done so regularly in the past. Each morning, she’d come as Rapunzel’s handmaiden, and help her get dressed and ready. 

For the first few weeks, Rapunzel had insisted she didn’t need the help. However, as it was Cassandra’s job, she’d insisted back. Eventually Rapunzel had gotten a little bit more accustomed to the royal treatment and accepted this new normal. Then, a few weeks after that, Cassandra would visit not just in the morning as a handmaiden, but also when she was off the clock and wearing her own clothing, as Rapunzel’s friend. They could sit there in the Princesses’ room, sometimes with Eugene present and sometimes not, and they’d talk and laugh together until they lost track of time. 

It was so easy back then; yet now, walking those same halls felt like trekking through thick muddy water. Could she really just come to Rapunzel’s room, as she did in the past, after all that happened? After all that she had done to Rapunzel? Rapunzel had shown so much forgiveness, and although Cassandra was eternally grateful, some part of her wished that she hadn’t. It would have made sense for Rapunzel to hate her; for her to lock her up and throw away the key. But no, she’d been forgiven, and it was confusing. Cassandra knew she hadn’t deserved it.

And even so, here she was- standing outside of her bestfriend’s bedroom. She recalled the last time she’d been in there, with a massive gaping hole in the wall. She assumed they’d have repaired that.

Cassandra took a breath to calm her nerves, and then she gave a light knock on the door. 

Immediately, Rapunzel’s voice chimed from within. “Come in!” she called. 

Normally, Cassandra would have chuckled and shook her head at the younger woman’s unquestioning welcome. Today, though, she just swallowed and slowly twisted the handle, pushing the door open only a crack to poke her head inside. She wanted to be  _ sure  _ she was welcome before stepping inside.

Rapunzel sat on her bed, crossed legged, with a purple throw pillow in her lap and her open journal sat atop that. Rapunzel glanced up from it to meet Cassandra’s eyes at the door, and she smiled. 

“Oh! Hey Cass! I thought you were Eugene. I was just about to come see  _ you _ actually! Come on in!” she said gleefully, patting the bed next to her..

Cassandra pressed her lips into a thankful smile before stepping inside and treading carefully over to the bed. Cassandra didn’t sit next to her, as Rapunzel had prompted, instead perching primly at the foot of the bed. 

Rapunzel set aside and closed her journal, before dropping her elbows in its place on the pillow and resting her chin in her hands. “How are you feeling?” Rapunzel inquired. 

Cassandra, feeling awkward, cleared her throat and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Uh, good.” she said, nodding. Then she turned to face Rapunzel for a moment, “How about you?” she returned. 

Rapunzel tilted her head. “I’m good!” she paused, her gaze searching Cassandra’s face for information. “Cass, is everything okay?” Rapunzel inquired at last while discarding the pillow from her lap and moving to sit a bit closer, with her legs hanging off the side of the bed. 

Cassandra sighed. She had come here tonight for a specific reason. She had to ask Rapunzel something. She’d wanted to ask her this for so long- since she’d first found out, actually; but then for obvious reasons, she could not for many months. This past week, each time Rapunzel had visited her in her room the question had been nagging in the back of her mind. And now, Cassandra would be leaving in less than a week for... an undetermined amount of time. She had to ask now, or maybe she never would. 

She swallowed, staring down at her hands in her lap. “Um, yeah. I just- I wanted to, uh, ask you something. And if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay! I totally get it, especially after the way I acted. Seriously I would understand if you’d rather not! You can just say the word and the discussion can be over, I mean it-” Cassandra was beginning to ramble, so Rapunzel reached a hand over and placed it atop Cassandra’s own. Cassandra quieted and looked up. 

When their eyes met, Rapunzel offered a sad smile. “You can ask me anything, Cassandra.” Rapunzel assured her. 

Cassandra looked down again and nodded a little. She took a shaking deep breath. “Okay. Um. I was wondering if we could talk about… Gothel.” Cassandra finally said. She glanced up again to gage Rapunzel’s reaction. 

The Princess appeared somewhat taken aback, and she stayed silent. 

Cassandra, worried that she’d crossed a line, rose from the bed to leave Rapunzel alone. “Oh, Raps, I- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. Listen, just forget I said anything-” she rambled. 

Rapunzel reached out for Cassandra’s hand again. “No, Cass, it’s okay. Really! It just...surprised me! That’s all.” Rapunzel swore to her. 

Cassandra paused, looking at Rapunzel. She seemed sincere, and so Cassandra slowly sat back down next to Rapunzel. 

Rapunzel spoke first this time. “It’s okay, you know? That you’re curious. You’ve wondered about your Mother for your  _ whole life _ . You told me before, about who you dreamed she’d be. And now that you know… well it’s only fair that you’d want to know more.” Rapunzel remarked, making it clear that she understood. 

Cassandra looked up to the ceiling, her eyes glistening a bit. “I never really thought I’d find out, and- and I never,  _ ever,  _ expected  _ this _ .” 

Rapunzel put a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “I know, Cass. I know.”

They stayed silent for a moment, Rapunzel supporting Cassandra through a painful and nagging fact of her existence. 

Rapunzel broke the silence eventually. “Gothel… she was cruel.” Rapunzel nodded while she spoke, and Cassandra chewed her lip, somehow feeling guilty. 

Rapunzel went on. “She was… so vain. She made ‘jokes’ at other people’s expense because she  _ wanted _ them to hurt. And it worked. She broke people down to build herself up.” Rapunzel said, her eyebrows knitting together as she relayed what she knew now about Gothel. 

Cassandra’s heart ached, as she knew that when Rapunzel said “ _ people”  _ what she meant was “ _ me” _ .

Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders a bit and raised her eyebrows as a sad smile played across her downcast face. “She was cruel, but yet she needed me, and so she convinced me that she loved me. She was manipulative, she gave me enough love that I always wanted more, and then… she’d had me trained. She’d show affection when I behaved how she wanted… so I did.” Rapunzel said sadly, before finally looking up at Cassandra. Her expression shone with insecurity and guilt, which made Rapunzel’s heart ache for her. 

“You know, Cass, you’re nothing like her. You never were. You… you’re insecure, in some ways, and also really confident in some ways, but  _ never _ vain. You tease, but never to hurt someone. In fact, _ I  _ think that you tease the things people  _ like  _ about themselves, to show that it’s not gone unnoticed.” Rapunzel denoted. 

This meant a lot to Cassandra, and warmth spread through her with Rapunzel’s words. When she was with Zhan Tiri and the Moonstone, she’d felt as though she was  _ so much  _ like Gothel… that she may as well embrace it. Now, she didn’t want that anymore. Yet, she couldn’t help but wonder if she could really  _ make  _ that choice. Maybe she was too much of Gothel's daughter to denounce those parts of her. Rapunzel had just shown her that she could. 

Rapunzel could always find the good in people, likely due to how hard she had to look to find the good in Gothel. Back in the tower, she _ had _ to. Gothel was all she had and so for her own sanity, she  _ had _ to find the good. 

Now, the good parts of Gothel were the most painful to remember. It was easier to only think of the bad, because when she thought of the good… she missed her a little bit. But, for Cass, Rapunzel dug up some of those memories that she’d long since pushed to the back of her mind. Cassandra had dreamed of the Mother she’d never had for her whole life, only to find out that her  _ real  _ biological mother was a despicably cruel and vain woman. The least Rapunzel could do to ease her friend’s pain, was tell her the good things. She had of course considered that it could upset Cass more, knowing that Gothel had a sliver of good and still abandoned her. Rapunzel just had to trust that Cassandra would have the sense to see the whole picture, now that Zhan Tiri was no longer whispering in her ear. 

“You know… She wasn’t  _ all _ bad. She could have just… locked me up and used me when she wanted, but she didn’t. She… she taught me how to read and write, because she resented the idea that girls and women couldn’t be educated. She gave me things to do. Paints and brushes, a guitar, games...and other things too. I think deep down, she must have known how evil it had been to kidnap me away from my family, and so she wanted me to at least be happy. Naive, but...happy. Cass… she never loved me, and she didn’t choose me over you. She chose _ herself.  _ She always chose herself.” Rapunzel said, mournfully.

Hassisly she wiped away the tears that started to spill down her cheeks. Cassandra remained silent, with her head dipped forward. Her short hair concealed her face, and so Rapunzel was unable to gage any kind of reaction. Concerned, Rapunzel gently placed a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. 

Cassandra flinched in surprise at the contact. She was crying, and she felt  _ weak.  _ Cassandra turned her face away from Rapunzel and wiped her eyes aggressively. However, any attempt to conceal her emotions was flushed away when an unstoppable sob bubbled out of Cassandra’s throat. She clapped a hand over her mouth just as a second one emerged. The sound was muffled now, but still just as obvious. Cassandra wished she could get herself together, but she’d gone too far at this point. With her shoulders shaking, the sobs and the tears kept on coming. 

Rapunzel’s heart lurched at the agonizing sobs racking through her best friend. “Oh, Cass…” she muttered, wrapping her arms around the older woman’s shoulders. 

Cassandra didn’t pull away or object. For the third time that week, Cassandra admitted defeat and buried her face in the Princess’s shoulder, gripping the material of her dress like a lifeline. 

The guilt flowed through Cassandra like poison. Rapunzel had been kept prisoner and psychologically abused for the first 18 years of her life, while Cassandra had a happy and fulfilling childhood. But even so,  _ she  _ was the one who spent a whole year feeling burning hot envy and expressing it to everyone she loved in horrible and cruel ways.  _ She _ had been the one to do terrible,  _ terrible  _ things. Yet here she sat, weeping in Rapunzel’s embrace. 

Rapunzel didn’t think of Cassandra how Cassandra thought of herself. Not at all. Cassandra was lost, and confused, and vulnerable, and that is all there was to it. She wasn’t  _ cruel _ or  _ cold. _ No, not at all. 

The Princess held her hurting friend tightly. She’d offer her love openly, and hoped that it would help Cassandra heal. Rapunzel carded a hand through Cassandra’s short hair. 

Cassandra sobbed again. She didn’t deserve Rapunzel. She deserved  _ nothing _ . How could she survive this kind of guilt? Cassandra wished they’d been harder on her. At least then, she’d get what she really deserved and  _ maybe _ she wouldn’t have this heavy blanket of guilt- threatening to suffocate her at all times. 

Between the sobs, Cassandra managed to heave in enough breath to say a few words. “R-Raps. I- I’m SO s-sorry! I’m so sorry!” she quavered. Her voice projected out shakily, and she cringed once again at her shameful weakness. 

Rapunzel exhaled, and hugged Cassandra closer. “Cass, you don’t have to apologize, not anymore. It’s okay.” Rapunzel assured. 

With some difficulty, Cassandra lifted her head to meet Rapunzel’s eyes. They were filled with concern- no. Pity. Cassandra hated herself even more. “I n-never should have blamed you. Y-you deserved so much better than Gothel.” Cassandra uttered, shaking her head. 

Rapunzel readjusted to take hold of Cassandra’s biceps and look into her eyes. She cocked her head to the side. “Both of us deserved better, Cass.” Rapunzel stated with sincerity. 

Cassandra, moving slowly, placed one of her trembling hands on Rapunzel’s cheek, brushing away a stray tear as she did so. She sighed. “At least, well- she’s gone now.” Cassandra said quietly. 

Rapunzel looked downward now, concealing a short flash of hurt. 

Cassandra caught it though, her friend’s feeble attempt to hide it. Another wave of guilt pulsed through her. She truly hadn’t meant to cause Rapunzel any pain in the statement. “Raps, I-” Cassandra began.

Rapunzel looked up, shaking her head. “No. No, you’re right. Sometimes though, I still miss her…” Rapunzel said, ashamed. 

Cassandra showed no reaction. She knew about the battle Rapunzel fought within herself in the weeks after her escape from the tower. Once the parties and the celebrating would die down for the day, Rapunzel would be here on this bed, exhausted and crying, missing the woman whomst she’d called Mother for her whole life, and feeling frustrated at herself for exactly that. 

Cassandra had sent for the Queen the first two times she’d lied witness to it, but the third time, when Cassandra stumbled upon a weeping Rapunzel seated on her window sill, Rapunzel had stopped her before she could send for Queen Arianna again. 

_ “Oh, Cassandra! Wait, please don’t get my mom… I- I swear, I’m okay! Or… or, I will be…” she had said, with a trembling voice, her cheeks pink and raw from tears.  _

_ Cassandra had felt conflicted. “Your highness… are you… certain? I think your mother would want to know, that you’re upset… Don’t you agree?” she’d replied. _

_ Rapunzel then dropped her head into her hands as another bout of tears poured out. _

_ “Princess, I- I’m so sorry… If I’ve said something to upset you more, I-” Cassandra fumbled, truly worried that she  _ _ had _ _. _

_ Rapunzel shook her head. “No… No, of course not… it’s just…” Rapunzel let out a small sob before she could continue. Sniffing, she said “It’s just… she- she’s not my mother!” Rapunzel lamented, before burying her face in her folded hands. Her sobs, though now muffled, were agonizingly audible and her shoulders shook.  _

_ Cassandra’s heart lurched. She felt like she shouldn’t be hearing this… but she was in it now.  _

_ Stepping into the room, she closed the door.  _

_ The Princess did not look up, and so Cassandra made her way to Rapunzel’s bedside, treading lightly.  _

_ She sat herself on the edge of the plush bed, somewhat afraid that she may be crossing a line here. Even so, she reached over and gingerly patted the younger woman’s shoulder. “There, There, Princess… Don’t cry…” The handmaiden comforted awkwardly.  _

_ Rapunzel did not comply, though. She kept on weeping.  _

_ Cassandra bit her lip, and glanced around the room for a moment, working up the courage to ask what she’d been wondering.  _

_ “Princess… Um… what do you mean by ‘she’s not your mother’?” Cassandra asked hesitantly.  _

_ Rapunzel sniffed a few times, then looked up, just slightly, from her hands. She shook her head, and wiped her shining cheeks. “I- I didn’t mean that, really, I didn’t. I’m just… I’m so confused.” Rapunzel admitted.  _

_ Cassandra had opened the emotional door now, she figured she may as well keep on going. “What  _ _ did _ _ you mean?” she pursued.  _

_ Rapunzel ran a hand through her short brunette hair, starting at her forehead. “I guess, I just… and I  _ _ really _ _ wish I didn’t! And I  _ _ know _ _ that I shouldn’t! It really doesn’t make any sense, but...” Rapunzel rambled, until Cassandra stopped her.  _

_ “It’s okay Princess. You can tell me. It can stay just between us.” She promised.  _

_ Rapunzel gave a tiny nod, and looking down at her lap, she said in a voice not much louder than a whisper, “I miss her sometimes…My- Uh, Gothel.” Her voice was dripping with shame, and Cassandra’s heart ached for her.  _

Rapunzel pulled Cassandra out of her memory when she spoke again. “Cass, you should know… I just, I think it’s important that you know… I didn’t push her- from the tower. Nobody did. She tripped. And  _ even _ if she hadn’t, as soon as my hair was cut she started to turn to dust. I- I guess she was just  _ so _ old, and my hair was the only thing keeping her alive… so once it was cut, she-” Cassandra could sense Rapunzel starting to ramble, so she stopped her, with a hug. 

“Thank you for telling me.” Cassandra said in a choked voice, over Rapunzel’s shoulder. “All of it. Thank you.” She finished. 

They broke off the hug, but stayed joined by their hands and their eye contact. “I want to leave Gothel behind me. I want to never think about it again… but I just, I really needed to know more first. You said everything I needed to hear.” Cassandra said, squeezing Rapunzel’s hands in her own. Rapunzel  _ had  _ said the things Cassandra needed to hear, and not just about Gothel, about Cassandra herself, too. She wasn’t like her mother, and she’d _ never  _ be like her mother. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and let me know what you think. It's lovely when you get to hear feedback :)


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